Westminster RPC

Location: Prairie View, Ill.

Presbytery: Great Lakes–Gulf

Membership: 31 communicant; 15 baptized

Organized: 1988

Pastor (Interim): Stephen Rhoda, August 2009

Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church is a small gathering of God’s people with a big commitment to proclaiming the gospel and upholding the Reformed faith in the north suburbs of Chicago. The region we minister to is very corporate, with many office buildings and corporate headquarters in close proximity. One would say that our area has corporate parks like southern Illinois has cornfields. However, the immediate neighborhood has a distinctly rural feel, and our building is a historic country church now surrounded by the Chicago metropolitan area.

In one sense the history of Westminster RPC begins with First RPC, located on the south side of Chicago. In the late 1800s, a congregation was formed there and continued its ministry through highs and lows, including two World Wars, the days of Al Capone, and the Great Depression, spanning the better part of the 20th Century. But it was not until the 1980s that a Reformed Presbyterian ministry made its way to the north suburbs. In connection with the diminishing south side church, a renewed effort was put forth to keep and develop a Reformed Presbyterian impact in the Chicago area.

Westminster RPC has been served by two regular pastors, Rev. Harry Metzger (1988-2001) and Rev. Charles Brown (2003-2008). Serving as founding pastor, Rev. Metzger was used of God to establish a self-supporting congregation through an active door-to-door witness to the community and through the gracious hospitality extended by him and his wife, Catherine, in their home. Rev. Charles Brown furthered the work of Westminster through faithful preaching, teaching, and leadership in ministry. His ministry included an annual Reformed theological conference for five consecutive years, with speakers such as Kim Riddlebarger, R. Scott Clark, and Joel R. Beeke.

In summer 2008, Rev. Brown resigned to accept the call of Rose Point RPC in New Castle, Pa. About the same time, a number of families of the church received job transfers or felt led to move on to other churches. This left a smaller yet ardent group to continue the ministry, still seeking to maintain a distinctively Reformed witness to the north suburbs.

Over the next year the congregation prepared to call a new pastor, but then decided to wait until more finances were available. In July 2009, Rev. Stephen Rhoda was called to serve as interim pastor. Rev. Rhoda and his wife, Mary, along with their three children, Jacob, Philip and Abigail, now occupy the manse as he preaches and teaches each Lord’s Day and supports the effort to renew the ministry. His position at Westminster is part time, as he also serves as director of ministry for Ephphatha Reformation Ministries, Inc.–a new Reformed publishing effort.(www.ephremin.org).

New Sunday school classes, monthly church dinners, and a weekly email newsletter, all well commended within the Great Lakes–Gulf Presbytery, have been used of God to encourage and strengthen the congregation in their Reformed faith.

We continue to occupy a historic property, the former Grace Evangelical Church of Prairie View, Ill. The white, clapboard church building, complete with a tower and bell tolling the Lord’s Day, draws history and architecture aficionados who can be seen stopping to admire and snap a few pictures. View our church web site for a photo: (www.westminsterrpc.org) or visit in person on a Lord’s Day morning. Come on the first Sunday of the month and stay to share dinner with us.

Your prayers are sought as the congregation seeks to persevere in the Chicago area. Some members drive an hour to gather on the Lord’s Day, so the church’s reach is even greater than the immediate area. We pray that God will use us to glorify Christ, the King and Head of the Church, of which we, with you, are a privileged part.

Prayer Requests

• Give thanks with us for a renewed excitement and fellowship within the congregation.

• Praise God for our wonderful facilities with which to glorify Christ.

• Seek the blessing of God on our behalf for new members and greater financial resources to carry forward our ministry.

• Pray for our upcoming Reformed theological conference, featuring Rev. Rutledge Etheridge of the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. See our web site for details.